


Divine

by lily_zen



Category: Dir en grey
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, Fantasy, M/M, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-21
Updated: 2012-03-21
Packaged: 2017-11-02 07:41:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/366585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lily_zen/pseuds/lily_zen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The god Aynihs must choose amongst the mortals four sacrifices. Kaoru, a shepherd's son, is among those chosen that year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Divine

Divine

 

Fandom: Dir en grey

Pairing: Shinya x everyone, Shinya x Kaoru

Genre: supernatural, AU, hentai

Rating: NC-17

Archive: Ask

 

Author: Lily Zen

 

Disclaimer: Not mine.

 

*

 

I was born a shepherd’s son in the village of Tiringil. I am Kaoru Niikura, son of Hayabusa Niikura. I was raised in a simple life, under simple principles—one day, that I would take over my father’s flocks was inevitable. However, that all changed on a warm spring afternoon in my seventeenth year. That’s when they came. By ‘they’, I mean the priests of Aynihs, the god of pleasure and beauty. Their temple is situated just so that the four villages—Tiringil, Forsytha, Sonabi, and Estharia—surround it protectively.

 

Every half-century, these priests come out of their eternal hiding in the large, golden temple, and select a male from each of the villages due to whatever qualifications they use. Some say they divine the answers from the gods. Others say that the god, Aynihs, speaks with the high priest directly to make sure his wishes are carried out to the exact degree. Still there is speculation that these priests merely go out into each of the villages and randomly select someone they think may please their deity.

 

This year was my unlucky year.

 

As I was saying, they came to my house and spoke with my father while I was out in the fields. When I returned, he and the priests were standing in the middle of the courtyard, and my mother beside him, weeping profusely, and clutching in her hands a satchel. My father bowed his head as he told me of my fate. I, their only child, had been selected as an offering to the god, Aynihs. I should be pleased, the priests told me, Aynihs does not select just anyone.

 

What could a god possibly want from a simple boy like me?

 

That was the question echoing in my mind as I was led from my home, and to the temple of Aynihs, where the other three offerings were waiting. They regarded me with easy temperament and welcomed me into their company. So we four huddled together until the priests told us it was time.

 

There was Die Ando, son of King Ando, overlord of all the lands. The redheaded prince had evidently been staying with some distant relatives in a summer home within Estharia. That made sense, as it was the most highly populated of the villages around here. He explained to me in a smooth tenor that was more prone to laughter than it was to sorrow, that the priests had come for him that morning while he was still in bed. He, in his nightclothes, was awoken by the cries of the women, their keen wailing heard even through the thick stone walls. Barging downstairs to see what all the fuss was about, he had been shocked to say the least when he’d learned of his fate. Shocked, but honored oddly enough that the god Aynihs found him beautiful enough to take note of.

 

Then next was Toshiya Hara, a prosperous merchant in Sonabi at only twenty winters, the trading town amongst us. He was beautiful in his own right—long limbed and delicate featured, and the deep blue of his robes only enhanced that. According to him, he’d been about to open shop when the priests knocked politely on the back door. Suspicious, Toshiya invited them in for chai and ended up breaking down into hysterical tears when they told him of his task. A native-born Sonabian, Toshiya knew all too well the sordid tales of the offerings—most of which ended with the offerings being slain horribly by the god, Aynihs. Here in his tale he exclaimed wildly, “I don’t want to die!”

 

Die gently took the older man into his arms and held him while he cried yet again. I could see tears pricking the prince’s own eyes, threatening to spill. He shared Toshiya’s pain with an empathic sense that most would not claim their rulers to have. The last member of our ragtag party looked on scornfully, his mouth drawn in a frown.

 

That was Kyo Niimura, the king of thieves from Forsytha. Just as Die’s father was the lord of these lands, so was Kyo, though he ruled in secret. He ruled the underworld with an iron fist, killing those whom needed to be silenced, and taking whatever he saw fit. His spy network ran everywhere. Nothing occurred that Kyo did not know about. Therefore when the priests came for him, Kyo already knew. He greeted them fully dressed and with coffee brewing by the fire. Kyo, who knew that his fate was inescapable, quietly wrapped up ends on his part—handed his command over to his second—and made his way to the temple.

 

The four of us had been selected for the deity of beauty himself, to be given gift-wrapped to his divinity. I wondered what fate awaited us—certain death no doubt. Though I wondered, would we see his holiness, the god that watched over our villages and protected us? Or would we merely die? Perhaps his true form was too beautiful for us to even comprehend, and we would die the instant we set eyes on him. Who knew? No one had ever returned once they had been an offering. It was all just speculation.

 

We did not have to wait long to discover the truth of our fates though. The priests gently cleansed us in their spring bath of blessed water, perfumed our skin with sweet smelling oils, and dressed us all in plain white togas of the finest spun cloth. There were benefits to dying, so it seemed. All of us were make-upped in the fashion of the people in the carvings on the temple walls—our eyes outlined thickly in deep green, so deep it looked black, and our lips painted red with carmine. Finally, each of us was given a small tray, upon which the sacrificial tools lay. I carried the one with myrrh incense; Die had the carafe of blessed wine; Kyo carried with him a sacrificial knife; and finally, Toshiya held a tray with a small gathering of sliced pomegranate on it—the fruit of the gods; none other were allowed to eat it.

 

The four of us, having been made ready, were led to the main temple room, where the priests were chanting their preparatory hymns. Directed to the center of the room, there we stood, awaiting some kind of magical apparition or death strike. I cannot speak for the others, but I was astounded—that we would be treated so well only to be given up for death. Though I suppose a god might be upset at having to eat a dirty meal.  In that respect, I understood our careful handling.

 

The priests, in the middle of their chanting, fell abruptly to the floor. Die looked around in alarm, and Toshiya cried out in surprise. Kyo merely smirked at the pitiful sight they made. Reaching out, I toed a priest lying nearest to me. He shifted bonelessly, out cold, or maybe dead. Who knew? Better yet, who cared?

 

A laugh came from behind us and we all whirled in surprise to try and identify the sound. Again, that muffled sound of amusement, which I quickly identified to be coming from behind one of the large pillars. At first all I could see was one lightly golden colored arm, sliding up the pillar. Then slowly the person stepped out, and I heard Kyo gasp in something akin to awe—the first thing he’d shown other than derision or scorn.

 

This was Aynihs, I realized dimly. This vision of golden beauty standing before us was Aynihs, god of pleasure. A bit taller than myself, but as slim as a willow, he stood proudly, with his shoulders back. His hair fell long and golden down past his buttocks, reaching mid-thigh. His eyes shown a warm, soft amber underneath a long fringe of the same pale gold color as the rest of his hair. Features delicately proportioned, but with an angle to them that said ‘male’, and lips like a rose in full bloom. The only stitch of clothing he wore was a long skirt-like thing in sparkling gold, and a necklace of the same metal taking the shape of a spider’s web, with tiny diamonds sparkling in the joints.

 

I realized that we were really honored, the privileged few who got to look upon this visage—the epitome of beauty on earth. Even Aynihs’ own servants were not allowed to see him, judging by the way the god had made them all faint. “I am pleased that you all came.” He spoke, and I swear his voice was just as beautiful as the rest of him—full of the honeyed promise of ecstasy in his arms. I, in my young, eager body, could not help responding to it, beginning to grow hard under my clothing. I wondered if the others were feeling the same.

 

Judging by his words however, either the god did not know that his priests forced those of the sacrifice to go, or he chose to ignore it in favor of more positive things. Aynihs walked to us slowly, his hips swaying seductively with every step. I found my eyes drawn repeatedly to the sight, trying not to do anything embarrassing. Stopping in front of Toshiya, he reached out with one fine-boned hand and took a pomegranate seed, placing it in his mouth and nibbling lightly on the soft outer covering. I swear, the movement of his lips was so enticing that I very nearly threw myself down as his feet and begged to be his. Only by force of will did I manage to stay as I was.

 

Removing the seed from his mouth, Aynihs placed it on the tray, the beginning of a small pile. Then he reached out with both hands and caressed the side of both Die and Toshiya’s faces. Die shuddered, and his eyes fluttered closed, lips parting in a gasp. Toshiya, however, threw his head back and simultaneously dropped to his knees, shuddering and shaking like he was in pain, but the expression on his face said otherwise. I think Kyo and I both looked at each other and smirked—Toshiya had just orgasmed at the slightest touch from the god standing before of us. Abruptly, I was afraid. What if he touched me and my control shattered that easily? After all, I was younger than Toshiya and my body was less experienced in dealing with such things. If he came so easily, then what was I to do?

 

Aynihs snatched his hands back, looking apologetic. He almost made the movement to help Toshiya off the floor, but remembered at the last minute what had happened only moments before. “Help him up,” he ordered Die in his low, quiet tenor that reverberated with power. Die did as he was asked, not even arguing despite the fact that he was a noble and above being ordered around like a slave. Toshiya clung to the redhead gratefully, trembling with little aftershocks of pleasure. “I always forget how easily affected by me you mortals are on this plane,” he said. I suppose that was his way of apologizing to Toshiya.

 

Toshiya merely looked at him, blinking owlishly, and not looking like he minded in the least. Aynihs looked sadly at the spilled tray, and sighed. “It is a shame to waste such good food, but there is always more.” Instead he bent down and took a sip of the wine from where Die had set the tray down, in order to help up the overwhelmed merchant. Still holding the carafe, the god reached with one hand to take the knife. He instructed Kyo to set down his tray and hold the carafe for him. The blonde did so without a word of protest, lost somewhere in the golden honey sea that were Aynihs’ eyes.

 

The god looked at me then, directly at me, and smiled. I almost died due to its brilliance. “It is good to see you, Kaoru. I have been watching you in particular for some time now.” Coming from anyone else, that would have been unnerving. From him though, it felt like a gift, a blessing. I wanted to kiss his feet in thanks. Returning to his task, Aynihs switched his grip on the blade, bringing it down to cut sharply across his own wrist. What should have been blood, red as the ecliptic moon, welled up, an iridescent fluid that shone in the light. Reaching out, he began dripping blood into the carafe of wine. When he deemed it enough, he stopped, pressing the wound closed with the flat of the blade. When he removed it, his skin was healed perfectly.

 

Taking the decanter from Kyo, he offered a sip only to each of us, beginning with me. It didn’t taste like wine anymore. It tasted sweeter than wine, with a zing that left sparks in my mind. When everyone had finished, he drank the remainder of the wine. “Wouldn’t want to leave any gods’ blood for my followers, ne?” he explained in a friendly voice. Then, reaching out with both hands he took my tray from me, setting it on the ground in front of us. Aynihs took two steps back and the incense burst into flames. Its whirling plumes of smoke swirled throughout the air, forming an almost perfectly shaped sphere. Aynihs muttered words in a foreign tongue, and the sphere solidified into a portal, swirling and glowing faint gold and violet and white.

 

“Link hands,” Aynihs ordered. We did so with some amount of trepidation. “Where are we going?” Kyo asked in his usual tone of voice, the first he’d said since Aynihs had arrived. The god smiled resplendently at him, and held out his hand, gently curling it around mind. The skin was so soft and his hold so immeasurably careful that I very nearly began crying. “My home,” Aynihs answered ambiguously. Then he tugged the four of us forwards, leading the way into the swirling mists.

 

All I could feel the entire time was his hand on mine, and Kyo’s hand clinging tightly to me, and my nerves singing with pain. Mortals were not meant for divine travel, I realized in a red haze, just before the pain ceased and I collapsed, dimly hearing the sound of a nightingale singing.

 

*

 

When I awoke, I thought not of time or location, but merely of Aynihs. Where was the beautiful god who had smiled at me and said my name like we were the most intimate of friends? I turned on my side and noticed for the first time that I was lying on a bed larger than any I had ever seen, covered in pure, pristine white blankets. I looked around wildly at where I was, noticing the high domed ceiling with a clear view of the night sky and constellations I had never seen in all my winters.

 

The room was gilded in gold and diamonds, glittering everywhere I looked as the light hit it, and exotic plants grew out of the marble floor through some magic knowledge I was not privy to at the time. I took a deep breath of sweet scented air unlike any I had ever known, and breathed it out in a shock as an arm wrapped around my waist, a nose burrowing into my long hair.

 

I must have made some noise; a squeak or some such, because then there was the sound of a low tenor voice chuckling over my shoulder. “Do not fear me, Kaoru,” Aynihs intoned, loosening his hold so that I might turn over. I faced him and was again awed by his visage. However, I noted that it was not nearly so all-consuming as before. My body responded, but it was not so different from how it would respond to stimuli from any other mortal. “What…?” I began to ask, but was cut off by my god firmly placing his fingertip over my lips, effectively sealing them shut.

 

“Here your mortal body’s response is not as strong, because this is my realm which I have control over, and you have drunk of my blood, therefore I now hold power over you as well. Your body is already infused with my magic, therefore you do not feel the pull of it quite so strongly, as you are within its grasp,” Aynihs explained in his smooth tone of voice. I nodded like I understood, but really I didn’t have any clue what he was talking about. Aynihs must have sensed this, because he laughed and shook his head.

 

Then, leaning forward, he kissed me on my lips, the faintest flutter of a butterfly’s wing, and just that was enough that I was instantly hard. Aynihs pulled away, smiling at me, leaving me gasping like a fish on dry land. “Where are the others?” I asked, sounding distant to my own ears. “The others? They are resting, recovering. Travel between the realms taxes mortal bodies, but because I was holding your hand, you were more protected than they. It will be awhile until they awaken.”

 

I nodded vaguely, relieved to know they hadn’t been eaten…or whatever it was Aynihs planned on doing with us. The god before me smiled once more, and pushed back my hair with one hand, moving to kiss me once more. His lips on mine shook me to the core, aroused me, and when he licked my lip, I parted for him, opening myself to his invasion. Aynihs swept inside my mouth, inviting my tongue to dance with his and at that moment I existed for no other reason than to give my god the pleasure he rightfully deserved.

 

When the kiss ended, I was breathless, lying limp in my deity’s arms. “My name is Shinya,” he said abruptly, “It is my true name, and it may only be spoken within this room. If you were to say it within the mortal realm, you would die. Never utter it outside these walls though, for names are power, and I want no other holding my tethers again.” I didn’t understand that last reference, but I understood that he wanted me to keep his true name a secret.

 

Aynihs—Shinya, I mean—pulled my head towards him and kissed me with such slow, brutal force that I could do nothing but give in. He was undressing me before I even had the chance to realize it, slowly peeling away the folds of my toga and dropping the yards of manipulated cloth onto the floor carelessly. Shinya’s hands touched my skin, and I broke the kiss, crying out sharply. It felt as though a dozen hands covered in velvet were rubbing themselves up and down my entire body.

 

I was so overwhelmed with pleasure that I do not even remember all the foreplay. One moment Shinya was stroking my body, then next his fingers were driving into my passage making me scream and moan in ecstasy. I could have come right then, but he leaned down, his long golden hair falling around me like a curtain, and whispered, “Don’t come until I tell you to.” My body obeyed him like the gods had formed it just for this purpose.

 

I rode the edge of orgasm from the time Shinya entered me, sliding in so slick and easily, a strong, thick presence in my body, comforting in its alien ness, that I gave no resistance. Then on, spiraling higher and higher, the ache within my loins growing greater with every thrust, reaching deeper within me and sparking things that I had never known existed, every caress of Shinya’s hands on me. Still I could not release myself, even when that golden deity took me in his hand, pumping slowly, perfectly in time with his thrusts.

 

Just as I saw Shinya’s rhythm begin to falter, he nodded at me, and said in such a stern voice, “Come now,” that I did. I came on his command, throwing my head back and letting go of my pleasure, creamy white fluid spurting up so high that the first jets of it hit my chest, gradually coming to be just a puddle on my stomach. I watched through half-lidded eyes as Shinya let his eyelids close, his mouth opening in a perfectly shaped ‘o’. He cried out wordlessly, and I _felt_ his release within me—warm and, oddly enough, soothing; a pleasure all on its own, just to know that I had given Shinya that much pleasure, and that he had deemed me worthy enough to have in his bed.

 

As I have said, that first time was hazy for me. I was overwhelmed and kittenishly weak, Shinya’s power having taken over my senses. When I came to, I was staring up at the domed ceiling of Shinya’s bedchamber, a warm, wet tongue lapping up the cum from my stomach and gently cleaning off my spent member. This time my body managed to stay as it was—limp and unresisting—due to my own exhaustion. That had been…simply indescribable.

 

As the golden haired god finished, he crawled up my body and kissed me. With a gentle smile, he said, “You taste delicious.” To emphasize his point, he licked my lips and pulled away laughing. “Rest, my pet. You look positively spent,” he told me. In an instant, my eyes were sliding shut, my awareness already fading away. However, just before I nodded off completely, I felt something slide around my neck and click shut. Cool metal rested on my skin now—a necklace of some sort? I couldn’t bring myself to wake and find out. Shinya had told me to rest, and he was overseer of this realm, controller of all things within it, including me.

 

*

 

An indeterminate amount of time later found me cursing my existence and whatever it was that had drawn Shinya to me in the first place. When I had awoken from my slumber, I found myself resting on a soft pile of pillows, a chain bolted into the column keeping me there. I was still naked, I realized with a sort of half amount of attention, however I had been cleaned off.

 

Looking up, I realized I had a perfect view of the bed. On it writhed four figures, three of them crying out in pleasure—one silent, merely taking it all in. Shinya, I realized with a start. He was naked and beautiful, kissing Toshiya deeply as he fucked Die up the ass, and made Kyo suck the prince off. My body tightened immediately in pleasure and longing. I wanted to be there. I wanted to be wrapped in Shinya’s embrace again as he moved in and out of my channel.

 

The desire was so intense; I nearly began to cry from want. I was a man though, and men did not cry so easily as women. Instead I watched, unable to tear my eyes away. Die came first into Kyo’s mouth, yelling as he did. He looked brilliant, his red hair dancing back and forth like a live flame. As the redheaded prince tried to recover, Shinya removed himself from Die’s passage, the redhead giving a little noise of disappointment. However, the god firmly ordered him to recover, knowing he needed some time to regain himself.

 

Toshiya and Kyo both clambered for Shinya’s attention as Die slid over, turning so he could watch them, as enraptured with the beautiful scene as I was. Turning Kyo around so he was kneeling with his back to him, Shinya swiftly entered the blonde, his still hard member moving in easily despite the fact that Kyo hadn’t been prepped. Or he may have been earlier…I didn’t know. Nonetheless, Kyo cried out as he was filled, his head falling back on Shinya’s shoulder as he moaned in pleasure. Then the golden god gently tugged Toshiya in front of them, leaning him forwards until he was braced against Kyo’s chest, his arms wrapping around the former king of thieves’ waist.

 

Reaching between Toshiya and Kyo, Shinya took both of their erect members in his hand, stroking them both off simultaneously as he began thrusting in Kyo. The blonde in question looked like he was about to explode from ecstasy, and Toshiya was not far off, his eyes flickering rapidly underneath his hooded lids. The two of them came simultaneously, their loads spattering each other. Shinya seemed to follow right after them, and he bit down on Kyo’s shoulder as he came, muffling any kind of sound he might have made. Not like when he was with me.

 

It went on like this for days. Me watching on, tortured, as the three of them were taken again and again by Shinya, the god of beauty and pleasure, and as I’d newly discovered, cruelty. For you had to be cruel to give someone ultimate pleasure, then to deny them while you took your pleasure right in front of them.

 

Of course, that doesn’t mean I was treated poorly. On the contrary, I had platters of fruits and cheeses delivered to me all the time when I was asleep, and great crystal decanters full of the finest wine I’d ever tasted. At night I was cocooned in down blankets, not that I truly needed them. Shinya’s realm was always a nice, warm temperature, but not humid. Just…perfect.

 

I still hated him though. I hated him for making me want him, and for hanging them—Die, Kyo, Toshiya—and their pleasure in my face like dangling bones in front of a dog. But, like a god _would_ do, Shinya made it hard for me to truly hate him. Sometimes I would wake to find him crouched near me, looking at me with soft, gentle eyes—eyes that glowed gold as the sun within the dark. He would whisper my name and smile at me, then move away wordlessly. The first few times I called out to him, held out my hand in plea for him to return. But Shinya just walked away, like the fickle, bastard god he was.

 

Day after day, things passed like this, and I watched.

 

I witnessed Die and Toshiya and Kyo be fucked, again and again. I watched Shinya shine as he drove each of them to the brink and back. I ached to touch myself, but one look from Shinya was enough—if I were to do so, there would be dire consequences. Still not willing to risk a god’s anger, no matter how much I might resent him, I managed to refrain.

 

One afternoon, however, I awoke to see both Kyo and Die hovering above me, naked as the day they were born, both with obvious erections standing proudly between their legs. I raised an eyebrow wordlessly, and Kyo jerked his chin roughly towards the bed. On it lay Shinya and Toshiya, both on their stomachs, though Toshiya was curled up like a kitten around Shinya. Endearing, really. “He wants to watch,” Kyo explained in a hoarse voice.

 

“What?!” I cried in shock, sitting up and firmly shaking my head. I stared at Shinya imploringly, but the golden deity merely waggled his fingers at me with a determined look on his face. ‘Get to it,’ he meant to say, I’m sure. Toshiya mewed for attention next to Shinya, but the god merely ignored him, all his attention focused on me. It was flattering in a way.

 

Still, I wanted to puke. “Bastard…” I hissed, knowing I couldn’t fight a deity. After all, it was only on his whim I lived now. That decision could easily be rectified. My eyes glared the promise of hell at Shinya, but the golden god just smiled carelessly and stroked a hand down the front of Toshiya’s body. The young merchant moaned loudly, and I knew that Shinya was touching that most intimate part on his body. However the god had eyes only for me, and I knew he was only doing it to enrage me, for my anger seemed to amuse him.

 

Angry, I faced Kyo and pulled him in for an abrupt kiss. He gasped against my mouth and moaned, and I felt a kind of warmth flowing into me. Arousal growing. Die moved in at my back and kissed my neck, nibbling softly. The sensation only grew. In the back of my mind, I recognized that gentle arms were wrapping around my waist, repositioning me on the pillows so that I was flat on my back, and both of them were hovering over me.

 

Now it was Die siphoning off of my mouth as Kyo teased my nipples to stiffness, the charge going straight to my groin. How could I resist it? Watching them for days, weeks, however long it was—unable to slake the ache building inside of me, the need for touch and comfort. I once more cursed whatever it was that had singled me out to be chosen for this sensual torture.

 

Kyo was steadily working his way down my chest, but I didn’t really know if it was because he truly desired me or because he wanted to please Shinya, knowing that the god was watching him, judging him. I moaned anyway though when he took my length into his mouth and proceeded to bring me pleasure orally. It felt fantastic—Kyo’s mouth around my length, warm and wet; Die stroking my body, kissing everywhere he could reach. Dimly I realized I was moaning, groaning out my excitement.

 

The instant my hips began sliding back and forth though, Kyo stopped, pulling off of me. Instead, he took over my mouth again, while Die slid down my body and embraced me in the same manner. The two worked in tandem, bringing my climax about swiftly, and through it all, that feeling of warmth building inside of me never ceased. My essence spurted down the redheaded prince’s throat—a prince, debasing himself before me!—and simultaneously I heard the two of them cry out.

 

Wetness splashed over my naked side, and I realized that Kyo had come. Judging from Die’s shuddering, he had also. Though that was impossible, for I hadn’t touched either of them, and I know they hadn’t touched themselves at all. I glared at Shinya, for only his magic would have been capable of such things.

 

The god in question merely smiled ambiguously at me, his eyes glowing the color the liquid copper. Beside him, Toshiya cried out and came, his head hanging off the bed, evidently having squirmed himself onto his back. In that instant, I was sickened with it all. The games, the lies, the waiting. I just wanted to die.

 

*

 

I woke an indeterminate amount of time later to find one of the elusive servants of Shinya’s domain hovering over me—and I mean that literally. For she was a small pixie or sprite, no larger than my wrist to the tip of my middle finger, with wings like a butterfly’s that were almost transparent, dusted in a light sheen of gold, like everything that belonged to Shinya.

 

On the bed, I saw the rest of the sacrifices like myself lying on the bed in a dog pile, so deeply asleep it would have taken a large earthquake to wake them. They were naked, as always now. No barriers were allowed here in Shinya’s realm, or so it seemed.

 

The pixie-servant hovered on a small pile of cloth, levitating beneath her fragile form. My chains dropped, all except the collar, which remained securely about my neck. It wasn’t that heavy though, and neither did it chafe, so I suppose it did not bother me too greatly. The cloth floated towards me, and I took it that I was to dress. I supposed I should thank Shinya for his small concession towards modesty.

 

The cloth turned out to be a simple long-sleeved robe of fine, white silk, embroidered with delicate violet blossoms. I belted the robe around my waist, and stood, brushing my long hair out of my face. The pixie flew ahead, then turned around and made a sort of trilling, buzzing noise. Obviously I was supposed to follow her. I did so, reluctantly. She led me through a maze of halls, and outside through a large set of double doors made from glass.

 

I stood now on a large patio, hovering just on the edge of a lush, rich garden. Set up there was a long banquet table made of glass, again, and wrought iron. It was piled with food of all types and varieties, more than I had ever seen in my life, and was only set for two. One of these chairs was occupied already, the other presumably for myself.

 

“Please, Kaoru, sit down,” Shinya invited, rolling my name on his tongue so intimately it was like a caress in itself, reaching to touch things that no human hand ever had. I shuddered and did as he bade to cover it up. Still the deity before me smiled secretively, like he had felt my reaction in himself as well. Maybe he had. What did I know?

 

“I apologize for my lax treatment of you these past days, Kaoru,” Shinya said formally, but I cut him off before his words could wrap another spell around me. “You damn well should be apologizing!” I shouted, surprisingly myself at my own audacity. This was a god. You did not curse or yell at a god. Shinya, however, merely smiled at me and nodded a bit. “Fair enough. You have a right to be angry, but please do not let my hospitality go to waste,” the golden deity implored, indicating the rich banquet prepared before us.

 

“You eat?” I asked curiously. I couldn’t seem to help myself. Gods seemed…above such mortal vices. Again, Shinya laughed. “I eat, but it is not necessary for me. I can maintain myself without it. I feel no hunger. Many gods though enjoy the taste of foods, so just because we do not need it does not mean we do not like it.” I nodded slowly, because I really did understand what he was saying. “So eat, enjoy,” Shinya said flippantly. A fruit dish levitated off of the table and made it’s way to me. “Try the pomegranate seeds,” the immortal one urged.

 

For a moment all I could do was stare at him. Pomegranates…? The food of the gods? Shinya laughed and shook his head at me. “Really, it’s alright,” he said, “It won’t make you combust, and you won’t be punished for it.” Hesitantly I reached out with the golden spoon resting next to my plate and scooped up just two. Only two tiny seeds. Then I helped myself to the grapes and strawberries, more comfortable with these than the other.

 

The plate then floated over to Shinya, and he took what he desired—a hefty amount of pomegranate seeds, a few strawberries, and then the silverware returned to its place on the table. It was hard to believe that only moments ago, I had wanted to kill this beautiful, kind, generous, divine being. It seemed in that moment that Shinya was not capable of “cruelty”—it was too human of a thing for him. Of course, in the back of my head, I knew better.

 

Without waiting for me, Shinya began to eat, nibbling on a succulent, ripe strawberry, and I watched his lips wrap around the red fruit, parting delicately to bite and take it in. He sucked slightly to get the juices out of the strawberry, and I felt that the act itself—Shinya eating—was a subtle seduction of its own.

 

Without any elegance at all, I picked up a grape and popped it in my mouth, munching loudly and rudely just to contradict the grace and beauty of Shinya eating. For the gods’ sakes, he was only eating. I should not have been getting so worked up! However, I gathered that’s how Shinya did everything. It wasn’t his fault—he didn’t seem to be doing it purposely. Just…eating obliviously, savoring the taste of it.

 

“You know, I wasn’t always immortal,” Shinya said conversationally. I choked on my half-chewed grape. “You—you weren’t?” I stuttered out, glad I’d managed to talk around the grape still lodged in my throat. With several attempts at it, I managed to finally clear it. Shinya nodded solemnly around another strawberry. He took the time to chew and swallow it, then steepled his fingers in front of him.

 

“I used to be mortal,” he said, “Human. Way before your time, of course. I was a shepherd’s son, much like yourself. But this was far before the time of cities and villages. My people were nomadic. However, we still worshipped the gods much as you do now. Anyway, when I was…young, twenty-something, a man appeared to me as I watched my father’s flock during the night—we all had to take turns watching them. At first I thought he was just a poor nomad like my own tribesmen. I offered him water and food, and he offered me betterment in life. He tried to take me as his lover, but I refused to leave my family. That’s when he became angry, and he took me against my will to be with him in his realm. You may know him…He is Yoshiki, the high deity. However, when Sugizo, the protector, found out, he released me from my bonds. However, time flew faster in Yoshiki’s realm. I had nothing left to return to on earth. As compensation, Sugizo offered me godhood. I accepted, and that was how Aynihs came to be.”

 

Throughout Shinya’s story, I merely blinked at him, a little in awe. Shinya…had once been like me. Mortal. He used to bleed crimson like myself. He felt hunger pangs, worked hard, suffered. It…humanized him to me. Made him more real. Brought him down to a level that I could understand. Suddenly he didn’t seem so alien from me anymore. Not that I understood his motives any better, but I guess I saw him on a more basic level. Suddenly, he was just this extraordinarily beautiful man, sitting across from me, enjoying a strawberry like he hadn’t tasted good food in years.

 

It was…nice. Seeing him that relaxed with me. At home enough to let down his guard a little. I knew for a fact that none of the other men had left the bedroom since their recovery—they slept, ate, bathed, and fucked in that room. However, I was allowed out. Given a seat at Shinya’s table. Despite myself, I was honored.

 

For an unknown amount of time, we sat there eating. Then a flock of the little pixies swarmed up to Shinya, and he looked at them for a long moment. It seemed as if they were communicating. He smiled and nodded. “Lead them to the informal sitting room,” he commanded, and once again he was Aynihs, strong, cold, and beautiful. The pixies trilled in assent and flew off.

 

Shinya watched them go with impassive eyes, then he turned to me. “Would you care to join me, Kaoru?” he asked, slowly rising from his seat with so much grace that it was painful to watch. He walked to my side, his robes of pale gold and white sashaying with him. On his neck he wore a necklace of delicate gold chains, all interlinked like the threads of a spider’s web, and thin as them too. Connecting them was a violet gem, the same pale violet as the robe. I realized dimly that we matched, and thought of that terrible irony. Had he done it purposely?

 

I wouldn’t put it past him. Immediately the spell he’d subtly woven around me with his human behavior was gone. If only I had seen myself in a mirror that morning, or at all before then, I also would have realized there was a gem in my collar of the exact same stone. “What do you want from me? Why are you doing this to me?” I whispered as I stood up.

 

Shinya smiled mysteriously at me, and leaned down to brush his lips against mine—softly, sweetly, barely there at all. It was the first taste of him I’d had in what seemed an eternity, and I moaned despite myself. It was just…so good. Shinya was an addiction in himself. I couldn’t stop thinking about his touch, his taste, the sound of his voice, the way he looked as he came, even when I told myself I hated him. “Because I have chosen you,” he answered ambiguously, pulling away, but taking my arm in his and leading me down the halls.

 

When we finally stopped outside a large set of heavy golden doors, Shinya turned to face me. “Remember, be polite,” he warned. Just then the heavy doors began to swing open, surprisingly silent for the large size. At the time, what I saw when those doors opened was the most amazing thing I have seen in my lifetime.

 

*

 

When we stepped into the room, a petite woman dressed entirely in black rose from the divan she’d been seated on. She had the palest skin I’d ever seen on any one person, and gray eyes like a wolf’s. However, when she smiled at Shinya in greeting, there appeared to be warmth in them, like flint striking metal. A spark of light that was sluggish to appear and even more reluctant to remain.

 

“Aynihs,” she greeted, “A pleasure as always.” Nodding slightly, she acknowledged Shinya’s power, though I could tell by her mere presence that this goddess was far older than Shinya would ever hope to be. While they exchanged greetings, two other gods rose from where they’d been seated in armchairs that matched perfectly the divan.

 

One was tall, with long auburn hair falling straight around his face. His shoulders were broad and well built, but there was a gentleness to his face and eyes that indicated perhaps he was not all that frightening. He dressed in elaborate robes of different shades of violet, and I wondered whom he was.

 

The other was male also, but much shorter and slimmer. His hair hung down to his waist, the colors of the ocean. Deep, dark blue, a lighter blue, almost aquamarine, and sky blue, mingled in thin streaks with black—I had never seen its likeness anywhere. His skin was pale, almost as pale as the woman’s, but not quite so. He wore nothing but a skirt made of fine fabrics, in multiple layers of blue, and a silver chain around his neck with a simple ring on it.

 

Evidently finished with the female goddess, Shinya greeted the other two. “Kami, Taku, always a pleasure to see the two of you.” He nodded slightly, and the other two returned the greeting, though the blue haired one, Taku, waved also and smiled cheerily. “It’s good to see you too, Aynihs,” he said easily. The taller one did not add anything extra, so I assumed he was merely quieter than the others.

 

“Who is your companion, Aynihs?” the dark haired woman asked, cocking her head to look at me curiously. I noticed Shinya’s arm tighten slightly around me, possessively almost. At the woman’s question, the two males focused on me also. It was overwhelming to have all their gazes focused on me, a pressure in my skull, like their gaze was actually palpable enough to make my head ache.

 

“This is Kaoru, my consort,” Shinya introduced me. Immediately I watched Kami’s eyes widen in surprise, and Taku looked at me with a new light of understanding in his eyes. I, myself, was shocked—consort? Since when? “Kaoru, this is Kami, the lord of the earth, Taku, god of the seas, and Cho, death’s chosen mistress. They are here at my request.” Shinya prodded me gently in my side, and I took the hint, bowing lowly before the three of them. Cho laughed delightedly, and I saw the sunlight in her personality peeking through once more.

 

“It seems he needs more etiquette, wouldn’t you say, Aynihs?” she said, her voice still light with amusement. Kami chuckled in response, while Taku just smiled and rolled his eyes at his fellow immortals’ behavior. Shinya shrugged one shoulder gracefully, and turned, saying, “You were called here for a reason. I assume you know why.”

 

I watched at the three gods all nodded solemnly, and Cho added, “Your sacrifices need somewhere to go, and you trust no one else to truly care for them.” Shinya smiled politely, distantly as he led the way from the room, our arms still linked. “Sister, I would never say such a thing out loud.” Taku laughed at that comment and added, “But you would think it.” Again, the golden god merely smiled, his politic mask not giving anything away.

 

Shinya again, led our party down through the halls. From the corner of my eye, I could see the little pixies flitting up near the ceiling, watching us pass. I wondered if they had done so on our way to the informal sitting room—though I would not be able to tell you anyway, for I admit to my lack of attention then.

 

We veered sharply down a side hallway, and I saw one lone pixie hovering over a single doorway. The door opened soundlessly, silently, and the dark room revealed came into light as sconces on the walls suddenly flared with light. In stepped the four deities and myself, feeling much misplaced in their company. It was a beautiful, elaborate room, though nothing is comparable to the architecture of Shinya’s private chambers. On the bed, highlighted in soft light, were the three men I had left in the god’s room, still piled together, deeply asleep.

 

At the time I had no idea what was going on. Merely confusion is where my head was located. I still kept thinking to myself ‘consort, what does he mean by this?’ Kami stepped closer to the bed, staring down at Die, Kyo, and Toshiya with the same softness in his eyes as before. I could not help but feel perhaps he was weaker than the other gods, but then…he is the overlord of all earth and forest and field—one cannot be weak. Perhaps his kindness was deceptive. Cho and Taku also moved closer, surveying my fellow mortals.

 

After long moments kept in complete silence, Cho finally said, “I will take the blonde.” This simple statement made my jaw drop. “Take him?” I blurted out automatically, “Take him where? Aynihs, you cannot simply give them away like they are puppies! They are human beings!” Shinya looked at me with his eyebrow raised, and immediately I felt ashamed of my behavior. I averted my eyes, staring at the fine wood floor, certain that I was about to be punished for showing such disobedience in front of Shinya’s fellow immortals.

 

However, I had underestimated Shinya yet again. A gentle hand cupped me under my chin and raised my gaze until I was looking at Shinya, in all his beautiful glory, his eyes still melted copper. “Kaoru,” he began, his voice soft and kind, despite the fact that the other three gods were staring at us, “I cannot keep them here. If they do not receive proper care, their mortal bodies will die. You wonder why I have not taken you since that first night? It is because I have been feeding from them. In order to maintain my immortal beauty and strength, I must take the energy from mortal creatures every half-century. Usually they do not end up so drained, but because I have not fed from you, I have needed to take more energy from them. It may sound brutal and cruel to you, but this is simply the way of things. I would change it if I could, but without the sacrifices, I will fade from existence. Every god has rites such as this. Now, please, no more questions.”

 

I opened my mouth to ask more, but upon Shinya’s entreaty, I was silenced. I simply could not find the will to defy him again, especially since I had just publicly embarrassed him, from the look that the other three immortals were giving us. However, Shinya was cool and unembarrassed, looking at them impassively. “So, Sister, you have decided to take Kyo with you. That will be acceptable. It is what I would have chosen for you in any case,” he said, a small smile quirking his lips. Cho nodded gravely and returned, “Then I shall transport him to my realm, and take my leave.”

 

Shinya and Cho exchanged the same minimal bows and deference as before. Then Cho turned to face Kyo, tangled between Toshiya and Die, and in an instant they both disappeared, leaving no trace that they had been there previously, except for the warm, empty spot that Toshiya moved to fill, cuddling closer to Die.

 

Taku and Kami looked at each other for a moment, the only two remaining. Then Kami waved Taku ahead, saying generously, “You may choose first.” Taku smiled gratefully and stepped closer to the bed, balancing over the two mortals with one knee on the bed. Leaning down, he gently kissed Toshiya on the mouth, and then turned and did the same to Die. He opened his eyes for a moment as he kissed the redhead, and repeated the motion once more. The sea god pulled away, saying, “The redhead calls to me.”

 

“Die,” Shinya informed him, nodding somberly. It occurred to me that perhaps he was not all that sorry to see them go. Though Shinya appeared to have soft spot for mortals, perhaps because he was once one of them, he did not want to keep them all. I say he had a soft spot for them because, as Cho said, he was apparently very select in choosing whom he invited to take them. Taku smiled gratefully at Shinya and exchanged the proper farewell. Then he too left with redhead, and Toshiya was alone.

 

Kami smiled for the first time I’d seen at Shinya. “He was my choice anyway,” he said in explanation, “So I’m glad things worked out this way.” The god of earth reached out and scooped up Toshiya in his arms effortlessly, and the nude former-merchant cuddled into his warmth. “I thank you for your hospitality, Aynihs. It has been a pleasure, as always.” Again, giving that little nod of acknowledgement, Kami and Toshiya disappeared, though little did I know that I would see them all again someday.

 

*

 

“Why did you make them go without even asking them?” I found myself asking. It was the first question that came pouring out of my mouth. Shinya shrugged and looked solemn, but unapologetic all at the same time. He continued to lead me down the halls, away from the bedroom he’d somehow transported my three former companions to. “You know the effect my presence has on them. They cannot fight my compulsion, even when I am leashing my power tightly. If I were to have asked them, they would never have left. I, unlike many of the gods I know, do not prefer to keep my sacrifices as house pets. Besides, they will be well taken care of by my immortal cohorts.”

 

We turned a corner, and Shinya’s gauzy robes split open on the side to reveal a flash of gold-dusted thigh. My gaze was drawn inexplicably to it as the robes folded closed over it again. “Then why have them in the first place?” I asked, still watching his cloth-covered thigh. The god sighed and replied, “I already explained that to you. I needed to regain my energy, but the ritual is done now.”

 

Something about that seemed suspicious to me, and I looked at Shinya skeptically, “Then why not just send us home?” Again, that battle-weary sigh. “Kaoru, were you not paying attention? I told you that story for a reason…Time moves differently here. If I sent you home, your family and friends would be long dead. It would serve no purpose. Of course, I will not keep you here by force, Kaoru. If you wish to leave, you may do so.” Reaching up, Shinya brushed long strands of golden hair from his face, looking at me from the corner of his eyes with those copper irises.

 

I stared back at him, unable to help myself. Did I want to go home…? Well, yes, but to me ‘home’ was not a place, it was the people that made it up. It was my mother and father. If they were dead, what had I to return to?

 

While I was thinking to myself, we reached Shinya’s bedchambers, and I had to wonder in the back of my mind whether I was going to be chained again. It would be just like Aynihs to treat me so courteously, then slap me in the face with something like that. The door swung shut just as I answered carefully, in a hesitant voice, “No…I do not wish to return home, for you are right—it would serve no purpose to me any longer.”

 

Shinya turned, his robes swishing with his movements, and cocked his head to one side, smiling at me like a delighted child. “Good,” he began in his soft, honeyed voice, but lacking the subtle magic that I could sometimes feel to it when he was trying to enrapture someone, “Because I would be pleased and honored if you would stay here with me instead.” With that he reached up with one hand, straightening his head, though the joyful smile did not leave his countenance, and cradled my jaw tenderly. With that one gesture I was frozen in place, unable to move or speak, though I knew it wasn’t due to any compulsion.

 

I stared into his copper eyes, a whirlpool of melted metal, hypnotized by the streaks of gold I saw buried within them, and even, if I looked deep enough, silver. Something soft touched my lips, and I realized that Shinya was kissing me, mewling quietly against my mouth, and my eyes had crossed in trying to focus on his.

 

Groaning myself, at that mere chaste touch, I reached out, wrapping one arm around Shinya’s petite waist and tangling the other with his arm. The deity responded by placing his free hand on my chest and slowly maneuvering the two of us, moving as one entity, to the bed. As my back hit the softness of the mattress, again I felt that heat building within me, the same heat as when I’d had Die and Kyo.

 

His hands moving over my clothed skin seemed larger than they were, each movement making the cloth pull at my skin and rub with an unbearable friction. I just wanted it gone. Then, magically, it was, and so was Shinya’s, and he looked so heavenly, sitting astride my thighs with this adorable expression of utmost pleasure.

 

“Will you stay with me, Kaoru?” he asked in a quiet whisper against my throat, and I moaned in response to the vibrations. Without thought I whispered, “Yes…yes, god, yes.” Just so long as he didn’t stop. I wanted that feeling to last forever. I felt Shinya smile slightly.

 

He continued to kiss his way down my body, whispering as he went, “You know, Kaoru, you were meant for me. The instant you came into the mortal realm, I felt it, and knew that you were made just for me. My consort.” I didn’t know at the time what the word meant, but I shuddered nonetheless—more from the heat in Shinya’s voice than anything. I wanted him so badly; I could feel it tingling throughout my entire body.

 

Suddenly bold, I yanked him closer, but Shinya gave no resistance, grinding our pelvises together in the sweetest, most tempting contact. He panted against my skin, the only noise of pleasure he made, whereas I groaned loudly and clutched his hips tighter, moving vivaciously against him.

 

Then somehow he was hovering over me, looking down at me with wondering eyes. For a long moment there was just mutual staring. That is, until he sank down on my erect length, and I nearly screamed from pleasure. The warmth, the tightness, the way he gripped my member inside of him, his body accepting me like I was supposed to be there. The heat inside of me grew even more with Shinya’s sudden action.

 

The god himself had thrown his head back, moaning my name allowed. The way he sank onto my length with an expression of utmost ecstasy on his countenance was indication enough that he did not let this occur often. I felt pleased and honored that Shinya had deemed me worthy of this pleasure. Shinya began moving, a shining golden creature of beauty on my lap, his hands curling lightly into fists against my stomach, nails digging in but that only served to excite me more.

 

Each breath between us, each heartbeat, each thrust of hips was perfectly in synch. In that moment, I melted into Shinya and I had the distinct feeling that he melted into me. That was certainly the way he acted, moaning my name with abandon every time my cock brushed against his prostate. Moving without thought, I cupped his member in my palm, beginning to stroke in time to our rhythm.

 

Shinya was panting and squirming, out of breath, but he couldn’t seem to stop moaning. His length was flushed, dripping enthusiastically at the tip, a testament to his intense desire. Tongue darting out to lick his lips, Shinya opened his eyes, looking at me from whirling depths, taking me in, and making me his—not that there was any question about it at this point.

 

My body swam with pleasure, sinking into it, my only anchor being Shinya himself. I breathed in uneven pants, crying out with pleasure as I experienced things I had never felt before. Together we rose and spiraled higher, higher still, until a cresting wave broke over both deity and mortal. Shinya yelled my name as he threw his hand back, bracing himself against the bed to catch himself as he came, and simultaneously I released my pleasure inside of him, nearly in tears from the pleasure and screaming Shinya’s name, here, where it was safe.

 

When I came to, Shinya had collapsed on my chest and was panting lightly, trying to regain his breath. I stared at him for long moments in silence until his eyes fluttered open, a look of lazy contentment within their coppery depths. The heat that had built between us had not diminished with our climax, I realized vaguely, and wondered what it could mean. However, as my gaze locked with Shinya’s all became clear.

 

Like I had just recovered a fact I had always known, I knew that I had always been made _for_ Shinya. Chosen for him, to be his consort, his mate, his mortal lover. It was my job to protect him, to love him, and to help him guard that precious piece of himself which was still mortal, and fragile, though he was not. I saw in his eyes the promise of an eternity together with this beautiful, divine being; an eternity of loving, though hardships and struggles would occur along the way. I would always remain by his side now that I had found my way to it.

 

I did not say it aloud, but then, I did not have to. For Shinya felt my thoughts and smiled. We were linked now, for eternity. I knew his heart and mind as though it had always hovered on the edge of my consciousness. I knew his hunger and pain. The warmth I’d experienced was merely the echo of his hunger in the link being sated. With him, I would never die. I was not immortal, but not truly mortal either. Shinya nuzzled my neck and kissed my pulse point, whispering words in a foreign tongue against my skin. Through his mind though, I knew what they meant, and I smiled in return.

 

This was home now, and what a divine place to be.

 

*FIN*

 


End file.
